Unexpected Love
by dragon-heart-87
Summary: Shikamaru, age 21, has yet to find the love of his life. But when he is sent on a deadly mission that will determine the fate of his village, he is assisted by Temari, who's wit and sassy attitude pulls at his heart in a way that it never has before.
1. Shikamaru

Shikamaru

Chapter 1

Shikamaru Nara stood restlessly on the roof of the building where Hokage Tsunade issued missions. Soon, in about an hour, he would have to present himself to Laby Tsunade to receive orders for his next assignment.

Lately she had been sending him on B and C ranked missions. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. Its not that he didn't mind going on missions as simple as running Lady Tsunade's errands, it was just that after three weeks it started to get pretty old.

He looked up into the sky - it was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining and a slight breeze cooled him as it blew past. He felt caged somehow; maybe it was because he had not been out of the village in several months.

"_Man, if Tsunade doesn't send me out of the village with this next mission I think I'll lose it!" _Shikamaru thought as he watched the clouds drift by on the wind.As they passed, the sun cast their shadows on the buildings and streets below.

Shikamaru didn't really know why but he was mesmerized by clouds. Maybe it was what they seamed to represent. To him they represented freedom and purity. These happened to be several of the things he valued most.

To be pure meant never to betray your village and friends and to always stay loyal. To be free was simply that, to be free of any bonds that blocked your natural right - freewill.

It seemed that even now, nine years after the Chunin exams, Naruto Uzamaki was still a perfect example of those two traits. Now, he finally posses the ability to think before he acts. Due to the fact that he's been using his head for the past several years, Sakura Haruno has become much more interested in him.

_"I guess those two and a half years with Jiraiya helped Naruto when it comes to women. If anything, it should have ruined his chances with any and all females. __Jiraiya is such a womanizer that one might think it would have rubbed off on a young and impressionable Naruto, but it seems he wasn't tainted by Jiraiya's habits. Thank goodness or else he would be alone for the rest of his life…like_ _Jiraiya"_

Shikamaru looked at his feet, _"At least Naruto can get a girl's attention. I can't recall a time when a woman's ever been interested in me."_

He sighed and shook his head. When did he even start caring about woman? They're troublesome and too much work! Aren't they? Well that's what he used to think anyways. Just within the last year he began feeling lonely.

Once he even asked his father why he had married his mother. She was such a bossy and troublesome woman and he could not understand why he had fallen for such a person. His father had replied that he would understand someday and that he would eventually want to marry as well. Of course at the time he didn't take his father seriously, but now, at the age of twenty-one he _was_ beginning to understand why a man might want to be with a woman. It was because life got lonely. He had plenty of friends to keep him company but there was still a part of him that didn't seem complete, even when he was surrounded by people that cared about him.

Shikamaru looked up at the sun, it had moved quite a bit since he had reached the roof of the Hokage building. Suddenly he remembered he needed to meet with Lady Tsunade.

Shikamaru snapped back to his senses. "Aw man she's going to kill me for being late!" He ran to the edge of the building and jumped over the side, landing on a ledge under an open window. He quickly jumped through the opening and made his way to stand in front on Hokage Tsunade desk.

Shikamaru looked up at Lady Tsunade and winced.

Lady Tsunade looked at Shikamaru with all of the fierceness she could muster. She rose from a sitting position and shot her fist into the air, bringing it down on her desk with a loud slam. She placed her other hand on her hip and continued to slam her fist on the desk to put an emphasis behind the words she was saying.

"Shikamaru Nara! (s_lam_) I will not tolerate my shinobi to be tardy for a mission assignment! (_slam_) These missions need to be assigned as soon as possible after I have received them! (s_lam_) I will not allow my clients to think I am lax with my ninja! (_slam_)" Lady Tsunade paused and observed the jonin's dismayed expression. Now that Shikimaru looked thoroughly ashamed, she allowed herself to sit and a kinder expression spread across her face. She watched as he recovered his composure and stood formation to await his orders.

Lady Tsunade sighed, _"I hate having to yell at him like that but he has been late several times over the past couple weeks. It's unlike him__and I doubt he's going to tell me why he's been late any time soon."_

Shikamaru listened helplessly to the verbal assault that Lady Tsunade had unleashed upon him. He felt ashamed. He was making the village's shinobi look bad and not to mention her. But he couldn't help it, he had other things on his mind. _"I don't understand why I would want to be in a relationship. If women all act like this then I would always be miserable. Not only that they're all demanding!"_

Once Lady Tsunade had stopped yelling she took a breath, sat down and began looking through the documents on her desk. Shikamaru quickly regained his composure and Lady Tsunade started speaking again in a calm voice.

"Shikamaru I will get directly to the point: I am sending you out of the village on an S ranked mission"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, _"She's finally sending me out of the village! Now maybe I won't go crazy! But an S ranked mission? This could be troublesome."_

Lady Tsunade stared at him intently with her elbows on the desk and her hands steepled in front of her mouth. "This mission is vital to the success of the leaf village's fight againstOrochimaru. I am sending you to the Village Hidden in the Sand where you will relay important information pertaining to our next move against the enemy. Once you have received this information you will head to the sand village alone. When you reach the desert you will be escorted to the village by a ninja that will be awaiting your arrival. When you get there, you will relay the information to Kazekage Gaara and then wait for a response to bring back to me. If you do not reach the desert within three days, the ninja waiting for you will send word to the Kazekage and attempt to find you. The ninja will aid you in any way possible." Lady Tsunade waited to see his reaction.

Shikamaru frowned. _"She's sending me by myself with no reinforcements. It must be so that I don't attract unwanted attention from the enemy. But even a single ninja clearly heading in the direction of their allies would cause suspicion."_

Lady Tsunade hid a smile behind her hands. _"Clearly, he has already discovered the weakness in this plan and that's why I picked him for this mission. It is because he is smart and thinks ahead, that he can see the problems and possibilities in any plan. Not to mention he's also an exceptional strategist."_

After a moment Shikamaru spoke, "How do you plan on overcoming the several obvious weaknesses in this mission?"

Lady Tsunade's smile faded. _"Several?"_ she thought to herself. _"Ah, he doesn't miss a thing. That's why he's such an exceptional shinobi."_

Lady Tsunade leaned back in her seat and laid her arms along the arm rests on the chair. "As expected, you never miss a thing. This will be a stealth mission to avoid drawing attention to you. You must use all of your skills as a shinobi to stay hidden while you make your way to the sand. As for the other problem, if you are captured and tortured for information, we have devised a solution to keep the enemy from obtaining it. I will place a seal on you that will break if your mind is infiltrated or if you begin to reveal your secret. She paused for a moment as if to consider what to say next. Then she continued, "When the seal is broken you will be killed instantly. Now come with me to the counsel room and you will be given the information and the seal."

Shikamaru watched as Lady Tsunade walked out of the room. She was followed immediately by the two jonin that were stationed at the door. He followed after them with his fists in his pockets.

"_Killed immediately? That wasn't comforting but it was a wise measure to take. If Orochimaru discovered the leaf's plans, then it could mean the end of the village and its entire people including the shinobi and the Hokage."_

But still this mission posed a serious threat to his life and, not to mention, it was bound to be troublesome. Through all of this, the loneliness lingered at the back of his mind. _"No!" _He shook his head vigorously. _"I will not think of that now. I need to keep my full attention on the mission, even the slightest mistake could give Orochimaru the advantage in this war."_

So putting his own needs aside, he followed Lady Tsunade and her guards into the counsel room, where found himself standing before the oldest and wisest of the council members. Suddenly, his personal needs seemed very small in comparison to the importance of this mission.


	2. Remembrance

Chapter 2

Remembrance

As they had reached the counsel room, the two jonin that had followed Lady Tsunade stayed outside the room, in formation, on either side of the door. Once Lady Tsunade and Shikamaru had entered the room, one of the jonin shut the door behind them. Lady Tsunade stopped several feet in front of two figures that were already in the room, and Shikamaru stood a little behind and to the right of Lady Tsunade.

The two council members, both male, appeared to be in their seventies. One had a long beard that stretched down to the middle of his chest; he was also taller than the other council member. He didn't seem so intimidating - in fact he seemed to have a rather lighthearted demeanor. It was the other one that worried him. This particular man had the look of the devil about him. He was slightly hunched over and had a crooked nose; he also leaned heavily on a cane. But he wouldn't put it past him to be able to effectively defend himself.

Suddenly the shorter old man shot his cane up into the air and pointed it directly at his head; Shikamaru couldn't help but jerk his head back in an attempt to avoid the potential blow to his face. The look on the man's face was that of a crazy, demented old man who scrutinized and doubted everyone he met.

_"Crazy old man! He could poke someone's eye out with that thing. Maybe someone should take that cane away from him before he does hurt someone!" _Shikamaru thought nervously to himself.

The old man began speaking in a voice that sounded rough and aged. "Is this the young man you have chosen to take the message to the Sand?" The old man eyed Shikamaru intensely. It seemed as if the old coot was trying to see strait through him. It was almost as if he were attempting to discover all of the mistakes he had made in the past – like he was trying to determine if he was fit for this mission.

Shikamaru held the man's gaze until he finally lowered his cane and looked at Tsunade. "Seems you have picked well Tsunade, this one has sense and he's not easily intimidated. I can see it in his eyes; he's a smart one. But Lady Tsunade, is he ready to bear the burden of this mission on his young shoulders? Perhaps you should have chosen an older more experienced ninja, but I trust your decision and you do know the capabilities of your shinobi the best."

Lady Tsunade smiled at the old man and bowed her head slightly in appreciation. "Thank you elder. It is pleasing to know that you approve of my choice. I have brought Shikamaru before you so that he can be told the message and you can give him the seal. Then I can send him to the Sand village."

"I see. Please, let's be seated and we can begin with you telling the young man the Leaf's next move against the Sound." The old man gestured at the table with his cane. Lady Tsunade followed the gesture and seated herself on the opposite side of the large oval shaped table. Shikamaru followed and seated himself to Lady Tsunade's right; the old men sat directly across the table from them.

Lady Tsunade began speaking directly to Shikamaru. She told him of how they planned to move against Orochimaru. He listened silently and asked an occasional question. Once Lady Tsunade had finished speaking there was a short silence before the tall old man stood and addressed Shikamaru.

"Come stand before me so that I might give you the seal." He waved Shikamaru over with a thin, wrinkled hand.

Shikamaru stood quickly and walked over to stand in front of the old man. "Now, you will need to remove your vest and shirt. Your chest must be bare in order for me to apply to seal." Shikamaru removed the necessary clothing and placed them on the floor.

Now that he was ready, the old man began making hand signs. Shikamaru had never seen such a complicated series of hand signs before, and just when he thought it would never end, the old man suddenly shot out his right hand and placed it on Shikamaru's chest above his heart. Intense pain spread out from the point of contact and enveloped his whole body. He fell to his knees and clutched at his chest. A breathless cry escaped his thought. The pain was so intense he could hardly breathe. It seemed as if his heart was about to burst when finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pain began to slowly ebb away. He fell to his side and began shaking uncontrollably.

Lady Tsunade knelt beside him and pulled him over onto his back. His eyes were foggy with pain and a cold sweet covered his body. She sighed. Soon the pain would stop and he would be back to his old self. There was no easy way to apply this particular seal. It required that the one placing it needed to channel their chakra into the chakra pathways that surround the recipient's heart. The result was intense, almost unbearable pain. That was what Shikamaru was just experiencing.

Shikamaru began to breathe normally as the pain subsided. He blinked his eyes a few times to clear them. When he could finally see he saw Lady Tsunade leaning over him. He tried to sit up but as soon as he did he fell back to the floor. The second time, Lady Tsunade assisted him, propping him up against one of the chairs.

Shikamaru found his breath and forgetting politeness asked, "Would you mind telling me what the hell just happened?" He said this to no one in particular but he _demanded_ an explanation.

The taller old man cleared his throat. "Well to put it as simply as possible, when I placed my hand above your heart I sent my chakra into the chakra pathways that surround it. Not only did I do that, I also manipulated my chakra in a way that will allow it to continually circulate your heart.

Shikamaru looked up at the old man. The movement caused pain to shoot through his chest and he fell forward, clutching it with his hand. Lady Tsunade pulled him up and leaned him against the chair. He tilted his head back slowly to rest it on the chair. His breath came in short gasps for a moment, then with his eyes closed he asked through clenched teeth, "And what will that accomplish?"

The old man replied with a regretful voice, "Well if the enemy tries to extract the information from your mind or you try to tell them, the chakra flowing around your heart will collapse in on it and crush it. It will kill you."

Shikamaru gave a week laugh, then darkness suddenly enveloped him and he went unconscious.

* * *

Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open. He looked around quickly and didn't recognize anything. _"Were the hell am I? How long have I been here?" _He looked around again, this time more slowly. He realized he was lying in a bed. There was little furniture in the room except for a few chairs. Then he understood where he was. _"I am in the hospital? Why? What happened?" _Then he remembered the terrible pain and Lady Tsunade helping him. _"I must have blacked out. Then Lady Tsunade must have brought me here."_

Suddenly Shikamaru could hear voices. He looked over in the direction of the sound. They were coming from the other side of the door. The voices sounded urgent and worried.

"What happened back there old man? That has never happened before! What did you do?" Shikamaru could hear Lady Tsunade say. Then there was another voice.

"Well I guess I used too much chakra when I made the seal." The voice belonged to the taller old man. The old man gave a nervous laugh and coughed a little before continuing, "Yup I almost killed him…sorry."

Lady Tsunade burst out yelling "You almost killed him? Old man, I swear if you weren't such an influential member of the counsel, I would replace you!" The old man grunted indignantly at the comment.

Shikamaru sat strait up. _"He almost killed me! I need to get out of here! The sooner I am away from those old coons the better!" _Shikamaru threwthe blankets off of him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He jumped down and went to the closet at the other side of the room. He opened the door and found his shirt, vest, and shoes. Putting on his sandals, he drew on the shirt and vest. He went over to the door and walked out of the room.

Lady Tsunade was the first to see him, "Aw Shikamaru you're finally awake. How do you feel?"

Shikamaru snorted and gave Lady Tsunade a cocky grin. Then sarcastically he said, "Better than ever Lady Tsunade. If you don't mind I would like to prepare for my departure, I am leave in the morning." Without waiting for a reply he turned and walked down the hall to the lobby. Thankfully his room had been on the main floor and he didn't have far to go until he got outside of the building.

The sun had moved considerably since the last time he saw it. When he had gone to see Lady Tsunade it had been around noon, now he estimated the time to be about five o'clock. Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking toward his apartment. It was only about half a mile from the hospital so it wouldn't take long to get there.

Shikamaru walked nonchalantly down the street. His mind began to fill with thoughts, some more pressing then others, but one seemed to stand out more than the others. The thought was really only one word, just a name, but for some reason it shouted at him as if it demanded to be noticed. His mind wandered over to that thought and as his mental touch reached it, it jumped out at him and filled his mind, _"Temari."_

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. _"Te__mari?" _He frowned._"Why would I be thinking of her?"_ Sure, she had saved him from certain destruction and they had worked together in the past to organize the Chunin exams, but at the time she had not shown any interest in him that went past friendship. Although there was that day about five and a half years ago, when Naruto had come across them walking together. Naruto had accused them of liking each other. When Naruto had said that, a strange sensation, almost like embarrassment, had shot strait through him, but he had grabbed a hold of thoughts emotions and pushed them to the back of his mind.

Shikamaru became aware of his surroundings again after a child's hushed laughter had broken his train of thought. He looked in the direction of the sound and realized he had stopped in front of an open-walled restaurant. Most of the diners had stopped eating and were now staring at him.

He faintly remembered gasping and looking down as the thought had entered his mind- _That must be why they are all staring at me!__ Ah, you're such a fool Shikamaru! These people must think I have issues or something! Look at how they are looking at me!" _He could feel his checks beginning to burn. _"Aw man! I must be bright red, I need to get the heck out of here!" _He quickly turned his head and began walking briskly down the street again.

He was almost to his apartment; there were only a couple of blocks to go. _"Man when I get home the first thing I am doing is packing. Then I am taking a shower and going to bed!" _Ten minutes later he was jogging up a flight of stairs two steps at a time. Then, when he got to the top, he walked a few more feet to his front door - one of five running along either side of a long corridor.

He pulled out a key from one of the inner pockets in his vest and unlocked the door. He replaced the key in his vest then opened the door and walked into his apartment. Closing the door behind him, he walked through the short hallway that lead from the front door to his living room and kitchen. The apartment had an open floor plan so the only things separating the living room from the kitchen were counters.

Shikamaru walked across the room to where his backpack leaned against the far wall. He picked it up and then walked back to the hallway where he went through a door and into his room. Dropping the pack onto his bed, he began collecting clothes from his dresser and placing them in the bag. Next, he collected various weaponry and other combat related items from around the room. These also went into their respective pockets.

Shikamaru paused when he caught the sight of his reflection in the mirror leaning against the wall on his dresser. _"Man I look like crap,"_ He thought mercilessly to himself. _"I look like I've been to hell and back, but then again, after what happened today, I guess I have"_

Turning away from the mirror, he stripped off his clothes and dropped them on the floor he walked across the hall and into the bathroom. Shikamaru stepped into the glass shower and turned on the water. He gasped as the cold water hit his chest; it sent a shiver up his spine. He adjusted the water until it was the right temperature.

Suddenly he remembered that day with Tamari. "_Why do I keep thinking about her_? _Come to think of __it,__ when she saved my life before one of Orochimaru's female subordinates could kill me__ she had scared the crap out of me.__ She fought so fiercely that she intimated the hell out of me. Now that's a women I wouldn't what to mess with. But that doesn't tell me why I can't stop thinking about her." _Shikamaru sighed and pushed the thought aside he would think about the "whys" later.

Shikamaru reached up and pulled the tie out of his hair, and his hair fell to just above his shoulders. Then he stepped all of the way under the flow of water and completely soaked himself.

As the water hit his chest over his heart, he felt a slight stinging sensation. He looked down at the spot. A seal marking had appeared were the old man had placed his hand, and the skin was slightly raised and swollen. The seal had a swirl in the center and the five elemental symbols ran along the outside - they were each about half an inch apart.

Shikamaru wasn't surprised to see the symbol. _"Well at least it's in a place where I can conceal it easily." _He sighed and closed his eyes. _"Man I am so tired, the events of today just wiped me out. The sooner I get out of this shower and into bed the better."_

Once Shikamaru had finished his shower and had donned his favorite pair of pajama pants he crawled sleepily into bed. He reached over to his night stand and set his alarm clock for six a.m. _"I have a long journey ahead of me tomorrow and I need to get all of the sleep I can."_ Just as his head hit the pillow, the name_ Te__mari _echoed in his mind, and as sleep took him into its peaceful embrace he went willingly with a slight smile on his face.


	3. The mission Begins

Chapter 3

The mission Begins

Shikamaru awoke to the irritating ringing of his alarm clock. He reached over to his night stand and turned it off. Then he dropped his hand and allowed his arm to hang over the side of the bed. He had his face buried in the pillow and most of the comforter had ended up on the floor while he had slept.

Shikamaru rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. _"Man, I __could hardly__ sleep last night. I kep__t having the__se crazy dreams."_ At first he couldn't really remember what he had dreamt about. Then it all came flooding back. The next thing he knew he was blushing furiously andwas grabbing his blanket and piling it into his lap to cover up his embarrassing arousal. Although there was no one else in the room to be embarrassed in front of, it still bothered him. He wasn't used to having random boners._"__Where the hell did that come __from__Why did I dream about Temari?" _They weren't just normal dreams. These dreams were hot and passionate and caused Shikamaru to feel things he had never felt before.

Shikamaru sat up and leaned against the wall at the head of his bed. He was beginning to feel frustrated. _ "__Why is Temari having such an effect on me?__ I haven't even se__en her in five and a half years__ This __shouldn't__be happening! I shouldn't be fee__ling like this."_He couldn't get her out of his mind. Shikamaru closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall. He kept picturing her in his dream.

They were standing in front of a fireplace, its flames warming their naked bodies. Her body was pressed enticingly against his. She had an hourglass shape and she was perfectly proportioned. Her breasts were firm, yet supple in his hands, her nipples rising to firm peaks under the gentle ministrations of his thumbs. She moaned gently and tilted her head upwards. He couldn't resist. He bent his head to the hollow of her neck and began kissing her gently, one kiss after the other running up her neck and finally making his way to her lusciously full lips. Their lips met and a tingle ran up his spine. He began kissing her hungrily and she responded just as willingly. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue into her warm mouth. It felt so right, she just had to stay with him. He would make her his forever. His hands began to explore the curves and gentle planes of her body. He reached down to cup her buttocks possessively…

A painful throbbing between his legs brought him back to the present. His eyes shot open. _"I need to snap out it. I shouldn't be thinking of her right now." _He sighed. _"If I don't get me head on straight…__both of t__hem, then it could seriously jeopardize __this mission. And I do not want to be responsible for the destruction of this village. _Oh but how he longed to linger in his lustful thoughts of Temari. He was beginning to like the idea of his hands running over her body. Exploring every inch of her while at the same time imaging all of the different ways he could pleases her.

Or at least all of the ways he had read about. He didn't have any sexual experience himself although he had purchased some "about" and "how to" books on sex, that were beautifully illustrated and very detailed.

He had been teased about his inexperience by his comrades but he didn't think that having intercross was something you should just do on your spare time with just anyone. He believed that sex should an experience that was cherished and not given lightly. It should be an experience you have with someone you really truly care about and love.

Shikamaru side. _"Someday __thoughts__ guys will know what I am talking about. I don't care what they think__ I respect women and __won't__ use or abuse them the why some of __thoughts__ guys do." _Whether or not he wished to admit it he was a very sensitive deeply caring guy who didn't throw his love at the first kunoichi he saw. That was partly why he had had issues with dating in the past. He was ready for a relationship that was on a deeper level and the women he had dated were not.

Shikamaru looked over at his clock. He only had an hour until he had to be out of the village and on his way. He got up, put on his cloths then headed for the kitchen. He had a quick breakfast and put on his backpack on his way out the door.

Soon he was well on his way to the village gates. Because of the early hour there weren't very many people on the streets and so the going was easy.

When he finally reached the gates he checked out with the ninjas on guard duty. Then he was out on the open road. His mind began to wonder but now that he was finally out of the village he had to keep his guard up. He didn't allow himself to think too deeply.

_"What if Temari came back to the Leaf Village? I wonder if she could ever like me. What if she already has a boyfriend?" _A twinge of jealousy shot through him. No he wouldn't think about that, he wouldn't think about her, not now.

Shikamaru moved into the trees and was careful not to leave any evidence of his passing behind. He created a clone of himself and sent it off to head to the rendezvous spot at a different point along the village wall. Hopefully if there was someone out there the clone would distract them away from him.

Shikamaru began running through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. He needed to try and cover as much ground as possible before he had to stop and camp for the night

* * *

Temari stood at the entrance of The Village Hidden in the Sand. She was facing her younger brother Gaara, who supported a message hawk on his arm.

Over the last several years he had gained the support of the village and had opened up considerably. It was a relief to Temari. She really enjoyed this side of him. He was caring and thoughtful and showed compassion for their small family.

Gaara looked at his sister. "You already have your orders; you know how important this mission is. If you fail to bring back the Leaf's shinobi it could mean the end of not only our allies, but the Sand as well."

Temari knew what this mission meant for the villages. She just hoped that the ninja she was supposed to meet would be able to make it to the rendezvous point without trouble on his tail. "_I will be pissed if I have__ to save this ninja__'__s__ ass. But this __isn't __about __me. I will just have to do the best I can."_ One of the things that irritated her the most was when someone couldn't pull their own weight. A week member in the group could mean the destruction of the entire squad. She had seen the results of this several times before in young groups. Now that she had her own three man group of genin fresh from the academy, her main concern was to train them to overcome each other's weaknesses and to use other's weaknesses to their advantage.

Gaara cleared his throat, "Temari, this messenger hawk will accompany you and when you contact the ninja, or something unexpected happens, send the hawk back with a message and if I need to I will send you aide."

She tilted her head in acknowledgement. Gaara gave the hawk a firm command to fallow Temari, and then he launched it into the air with his arm, it flew high above and began circling, waiting.

"I will not disappoint you and I _will_ at the least come back with the message." There was silence for a moment, and then Gaara said with a regretful voice. "The only way you can bring me the message is if you bring the shinobi. He is unable to reveal the message until I release the seal that was placed on him to keep the information a secret."

"Well that complicates things considerably" She knew that this precaution was necessary but she couldn't help voicing her irritation. They looked at one another for a time, and then Gaara smiled. "I thought you might think that." Reaching out his arms he embraced his sister in a hug. "I know you will do well, you're the best shinobi for the job, I should know I am the one who assigned you!" he stepped back. "Now go and good luck."

Temari smiled. Then without saying a word she turned toward the open dessert and disappeared. _"I never have be__en__ good with goodbyes.__"_She was running at a steady pace, the hawk flew high above her. "_It will take me two days to get there__ so I__had better get a move on, I__wouldn't__ want to be late" _

It was well after sunset before Shikamaru decided to stop for the night. He only had half a day's journey left before he reached the border of the small country that ran between the Land of Fire, and the Land of Wind. He was making good time and expected to arrive at the rendezvous point by mid morning on the third day of his trip.

When Shikamaru decided to stop for the night he went a ways off his chosen path and set up camp next to a stream. He didn't set up camp in the traditional sense. He had no need for a fire or a tent, but instead he set up trip wires at the base and in the branches of a large tree. Shikamaru had decided it would be safer to sleep in the tree, were he would be well counseled by branches thick with leaves, instead of on the ground where he would be exposed.

Once Shikamaru had settled himself on a branch were he could easily see his surroundings, he slipped his backpack off, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and lowered himself into a sitting position. With his backpack in his lap he allowed his body to fully relax for the first time sense he left the village.

_"Man I am __exhausted__ and my feet hur__t."_ He hung his head in dismay. "_B__ut I guess __there is __no use in __complaining__ even if it is just to __myself__."_ His stomach growled in accordance to his discontent. _"And__ on top of it all__ I am hungry. That means I have to eat one of Lady Tsunade's mission ration bars__"_ The though almost triggered his gag reflex.

Mission ration bars were hard, dry, stale, and tasted about as good as cardboard. When Lady Tsunade developed the recipe she wasn't worried about the taste, she was only concerned about the effect. These bars were chock full of vitamins and other nutritionally enhanced things that provide a ninja with a third of their daily nutritional requirement. Three a day was all he needed to stay energized and alert.

Shikamaru reached a tentative hand into his bag. He cringed as his fingers brushed the wrapper of a mission ration bar. Holding his breath he snatched the bar from his pack and brought it to eye level so he could toughly inspect it. Shikamaru's eye began to twitch. _"The color of__ the wrapper has __changed_; _it used to be __white__ now it's pink!__"_ Shikamaru flipped it over in his hand to look at the front. Imprinted on the upper right hand corner was a cartoon face of Lady Tsunade. Her eyes were closed and her tongue was sticking out in a "ha ha loser!" kind of manner.

Shikamaru lowered his head to his chest in disgust. _"She knows everyone __hates theses du__mb bars and now she making fun of us for it__! Sometimes I hate that woman. _ He briefly considered foraging for food. He knew that there were some edible mushrooms and berries in the area, but he decided against it. Leaving his hiding place would only increase the chances of his being discovered if someone were in the immediate vicinity. _"__I guess that means I will just__ have to man up and eat the dumb__ thing.__"_He could just imagine Temari saying._ "__What's__ wrong Shikamaru? Don't you have the balls to eat that?" _He snorted_ "__Ya__, I__ bet she would say something like..." _He caught himself in mid thought. _"Now I have __even __beg__un__ to think of her as casually as if I see her __every day__. I don't understand wh__y__ this is happening, I have never liked a women so much before…"_ He caught himself again. There it was, he finally admitted it to himself. He liked Temari. He began to entertain the thought that just maybe she would be the ninja he was to meet at the edge of the desert. A downcast look spread across his face. Unfortunately he knew that he couldn't get his hopes up. There were so many other shinobi that Gaara could have assigned to this mission that the possibility of Temari being the chosen one was rather small.

Suddenly he rememberedthe opposing bar in his hand. Muttering a slightly childish "I hate you" at it, he ripped off the wrapper and ate it as fast as he could. Grabbing his canteen he guzzled down it's contents to the very last drop. He could hear Lady Tsunade laughing as he did so. _"I __can't__ believe I have to eat __tho__s__e__ almost every day until I get back to the village. What a drag" _Finally, after his stomach began to settle, he moved his body into a sleeping position using his pack to cushion his head from the hard surface of the tree. He began to drift into a light sleep. Tomorrow would be a very interesting day. Tomorrow he would get to see just how fate dealt her cards.

* * *

The Sound ninja looked down at the remains of a replacement jutsu. The log was toughly riddled with kunai. Had it been a real person, that attack would have killed him. The clone had been heading in the direction of the Sand Village when he had come across it. As its head band and cloths had suggested, it had come from the Leaf Village. He had chased the dame thing for quite some time before he had gotten close enough to realize it was not a real ninja and finally destroyed it.

The clocked man sneered and said to himself in a raspy voice, pulling his hood farther down over his head it casted dark shadows over his face. " You will not survive for long, ninja. I will find you and when I do I will take you to Orochimaru. He will be very pleased. He's been wanting a Leaf ninja to play with ever sense the last one died unexpectedly." He snickered and began to wheeze and hack violently. Flecks of spit shot out from his mouth and drool dripped down his chin. "The master should know better, he knows that when he plays to rough with his toys they don't last long. I guess he just hasn't captured a shinobi strong enough to withstand his strong sexual desires."

The man turned toward the direction of the Sand Village and slipped back into the darkness of the forest.


	4. Encounter

Chapter 4

Encounter

Falling… falling_"__H__u__…__? That's __strange__why do I feel like I am falling?__ Am I still sleeping? What! Now __I __a__m__ falling even faster!"_ Shikamaru's eyes shot open, it was too late. He was already slipping off of the branch and careening face first to the ground. Inches above the forest floor he felt a thin line of pressure spread across his stomach as he triggered one of his trip wires. He hit the ground with a thud. Seconds later he heard the barely audible sound of a kunai flying towards his head. With an undignified yelp he got his hands under himself and pushed himself up to his knees, his hands flying up horizontal to his head, fingers spread wide.

The kunai had buried itself deep in the ground were his head had been. Shikamaru gulped nervously, he glanced around to assess his position. He had landed at the base of the tree were his trip wires were the most concentrated. It would take some very careful footwork to get out of this situation.

He stood and began making his way to safety._ "__Ya__, that's just great __Shikamaru__." _He chided himself. _"Now__ look what you've gotten yourself into! You managed to fall out of the tree because you moved around __too__ much in your sleep!__Maybe__ next time I should just wire myself to the tree!"_

Finally he made it to safety on the other side of all the wires. _"I really should take __those__ down before I __le__a__ve__. I wouldn't what to kill something" _He snorted _"Ha__ that's ironic__" _Shaking his head he turned to take down the first of the wires.

It took the good part of an hour to collect all of the wiring and kunai. Once he had organized and put it all away he jumped up into the tree to get his bag. Taking the canteen out his pack and slinging his bag over his shoulder, he jumped down from the tree and walked over to the nearby stream.

Shikamaru dropped his pack beside him and squatted on the streams bank to fill his canteen. The water was crystal clear and pleasantly cool to the touch. With his canteen filled he reached into the bag and grabbed a mission ration bar. Ignoring the irritating picture of Lady Tsunade he opened the package and began eating.

As he absent mindedly chewed on his breakfast, random thoughts began to pop up in his head. _"Aw man, I forgot to take the plant next to my alarm clock over to __mom__'__s__ so she could water it for me. It will probably be dead by time I get home. Come to think of it, it will definitely be dead. Seeing as I didn't water it for a week. My mom gave me that thing, when she finds out she's probably going give me a lecture on how irresponsible I am.__What__ a drag.__"_Sighing, he bent over and picked up his bag. Then, remembering his alarm clock, he thought. _"I __wonder__ what __time it is__ I should probably __get go__ing soon if__ I want to try to get to the_ _rendezvous__point by mid morning __tomorrow__." _ Donning his pack, and with canteen and bar in hand, Shikamaru jumped up into the nearest tree and made his way to the top.

Once at the top, he swept a lazy gaze over the surrounding landscape. Taking another bite out of the ration bar he turned his gaze toward the sun and squinted at it. It was high up in the sky, well past the ten o'clock position.

Shikamaru's mouth dropped open and his head jutted forward a little in disbelief. The chunk of ration bar he'd been chewing on fell out of his mouth and he nearly dropped his canteen. He stared at the sun. _"What! It's already one o'clock! I was supposed to le__a__ve at least four hours ago! Now I will never get __to the dessert by mid morning!__"_

Scarfing down the rest of the bar and getting a quick drink he shoved his canteen into his bag. Then he climbed down to a lower part of the tree and began running in the direction of the rendezvous point.

_Man I hope that ninja I am going to meet tomorrow doesn't realize that it took me longer than it was supposed to__ t__o__ get there.__" _ Shikamaru was beginning to feel frustrated. _"I can't believe how stupid I am! How can I expect to successfully complete this mission if I am not even at the top of my game! I couldn't even get up on time, how lame is that?"_

Shikamaru glared at himself. That little voice in his head began to nag at him. _"What would Temari think of you? Do you really think she __would__ want anything to do with a guy who is __as__ irresponsible as you?__ She will only see you as unwanted baggage that will just get in her way." _The voice was beginning to sound smug. It was really starting to irritate him. _"You should just stop fantasizing about being with her, she's too good for you and you know it!"_

Shikamaru shook his head violently to clear his mind of the vicious mental onslaught._ "No! I __won't__ think like that! Maybe she is too good for me and __I __don't __have a chance of being with her__ But__ I am tired of not having someone to love and __cherish, I am tired of not __having__ that __special bon__d that you could__ only__ share with__ your __soul __mate._Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. He had avoided these thoughts for so long. They hurt too much to think about, but now he was at his breaking point, he couldn't take it anymore. "_I am just tired of being alone. I thought I would never meet the woman who would be able to fill this hole in my heart. I am not even sure why I think Temari's the one who could. I can just feel it. Maybe these feelings began clear back when I fought against her in the Chunin Exams.__I am not sure, but I am sure of what I feel__. I love her and maybe, just maybe, she will eventually love me to._

Each stride he took felt longer than the last and with every breath his heart grew heavier. Now, feeling thoroughly dejected, he cleared his mind from any thoughts. He would make it through this mission with or without his heart intact.

* * *

Temari reached the top of the dune and scanned the horizon. Nothing looked different or out of the ordinary. It was the same old hot, desolate, sun baked dessert it had always been. She saw a not to distant shadow making circle patterns on the ground. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she looked up. Temari quickly spotted the silhouette of the messenger hawk high up in the sky.

_"__W__hat a __loyal__bird. The only time it le__a__ves me is when it __flies__ off to hunt. If only men were just as dependable. That would make my life much easier. Just about the only people I can really trust are Gaara __and Kanku__ro__"_Temari dropped her hand to her side and continued walking down the other side of the dune.

She had not had good luck with men it the past. Most of the men she'd come across were complete idiots or total jerks. Occasionally she would meet someone who had better qualities going for him, but they were generally already in a relationship, and so she'd not dated much.

_"I can't even really think of any one guy __who__se__ really caught my attention or who I__ felt comfortable around_Temari reached the bottom of the dune. The land was beginning to level out and become rockier. She was getting closer to the edge of the dessert.

_Well there was that one ninja from the Leaf Village. He was __my guide when I was visiting__ there__ as the ambassador__ for __the Sand. What was his name?"_ Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to recall. _"Aw, that's right his name was Shikamaru. I don't know how I could forget. I really enjoyed seeing him __every day__. It was easy t__o feel comfortable__ around him and so I felt like I __could be my__self when I was with him. I didn't__ have to put up my tough__ girl __front__…" _She paused for a moment as the thought began to sink in. _"Come to think of it__, he showed up to fo__llow__ me around mo__re__ often__ than was __necessary__… did he like me?" _A dreamy little smile spread across her face. _"He was pretty __handsome__ and not to __mention__ smart. Even if he did act lazy and __putout__, I could tell he was just trying to act indifferent. _ _I should ask __Garaa__ to send me on a mission to the Leaf Village. M__aybe__ I could see Shikamaru…_whowaaaa!! Umph." Temari stumbled over a rock and fell to her hands and knees. She had barely caught herself before her face went crashing into the ground. Her girlish fantasies took over. She could just imagine Shikamaru standing next to her. His hands shoved in his pockets. A qwerky smile appeared on his face as he tried not to laugh. She turned bright red with embarrassment. She gave a little gasp and imagined slapping herself across the face.

She quickly got to her feet and brushed the sand from her cloths. She banished the illusion of Shikamaru and continued walking. But she couldn't help herself, she imagined his handsome face. _"I __wonder__ what he looks like when his hairs down…__or when his shirt__is __off__…__"_She thought with a wicked grin. She imagined his muscled chest; it was well defined from years of training. The muscles of his lower stomach formed into a v and disappeared beneath the waste line of his pants. She couldn't help but look down father... She gasped again, her chin dropped and her hands flew to her mouth. _"What am I __thinking?__ Temari this __isn't__ like you!__Am __I so deprived of male att__ent__ion that I__'__m__ thinking like this now! Oh what is wrong with me I need to snap out of __it.__"_

The sun was beginning to set. It's colored rays casting the sands in hues of pinks and reds. Temari stopped to set up camp for the night. There was no wood for a firer so she set up her tent. The dessert got pretty cold at night so she would need it. She crawled into the tent and zipped it up, she unrolled her sleeping bag and got inside it. It was nice and warm and she felt secure inside it. Before she knew it she was fast asleep.

* * *

Shikamaru awoke much earlier the next morning. He had set up camp in the same manner he had the previous night and he had also taken down the trip wires in much the same way. Now he was well on his way to the rendezvous point, he would be there in less than an hour.

He had arrived at a small clearing a little brook flowed through it. He didn't think anything of it. He ran strait through the meadow and jumped over the stream. He landed on the other side next to a bush and took one more step forward when suddenly he was hit hard in his left shoulder. His arm went limp and he flew backward and landed on his back in the water.

The pain was so intense it was almost depilating. His hand shot up to the source of the pain. Just as he looked down he felt the cold steel of a kunai. It had all happened so fast that he hadn't even seen were the weapon had come from.

_"I __can't__ move my arm. The kunai must have hit a pressure point."_ He groaned in pain. He managed to get to his feet. He looked in the direction of where he had last stood. His hand clutching his shoulder he walked over to the spot. He looked down and saw the no longer taunt line of a trip wire. Shikamaru reached down and picked it up. It appeared aged as tough it had been there a long time.

Shikamaru was livid with anger. _"This is exactly why I don't le__a__ve mine up!__"_ He gathered it up best he could and shoved it in his pocket.

Clutching his shoulder he began walking again. _"__I can't__ remove the kunai or __e__l__s__e__ I might not be able to stop the bleeding. __It's a good thing I am almost there. I can have that Sand __ninja__help me" _Shikamaru continued on, murderous thoughts filled his mind. He only wished he could meet the ninja who did this to him.

* * *

Temari arrived at the rendezvous point. There was a giant bolder that rested on the border between the Land of Wind and the neighboring country. That is where she expected the Leaf ninja to be. She jumped to the top of the bolder. The leaf ninja hadn't arrived yet. _"__I was even a few hours late, __I should think that he would be here any time soon.__The faster he gets here and the sooner we le__ave__ the better. I shouldn't stand out in the open I need to find a place to hide until __he gets here." _She moved off into the tree line and perched herself in a tree.

Temari had only been sitting in the tree for twenty minutes before someone walked out of the forest. He was hunched over, his right hand holding his shoulder. Temari looked intently at the figure. _"__Is that the L__eaf __ninja__? It must be__ he__'__s w__ear__ing a uniform from that village."_The leaf shinobi walked slowly over to the boulder. He leaned his back against it and lowered himself to the ground. He stretched out his left leg and left his right leg bent upward at the knee.

Now the he was sitting, Shikamaru leaned his head back against the rock. He had tried to apply pressure to his wound but it wasn't enough. He had lost enough blood that he was beginning to feel lethargic. _"Man it would __be embarrassing i__f Temari showed up. I would die__ if she were to see me like this."_

When he had turned around to sit down and she could see his face better, she recognized him immediately _"That's Shikamaru! Oh no he must be hurt. He looks really exhausted__. I wo__nder what happened to __him?__ Was he __attacked? He obviously__ needs help." _She jumped down from the tree and ran over to him. She knelt by his left side so she could inspect his wound.

He hadn't even known someone was beside him until she said his name. "Shikamaru, what happened to you?" His eyes shot open and meet with those of the one he wanted to see the least right then. _"Oh no its Temari!__ What do I do! What do I say?" _

Temari repeated herself, she was worried he wouldn't be able to respond. "What happened? How did you get this wound? Can you move your arm?"

Shikamaru swallowed nervously. _"Great now__ I have to__ tell her what happened__. Then__sh__e will know how foolish I am. She__'__s going to hate me!"_ He hesitated and then began with a projected air of confidence. Although he didn't feel any of it. "While on my way here I accidentally ran into some one's old trip wire and as you can see, I was inadvertently attacked, and it hit it's mark. It happened so quickly I didn't have time to react." He waited to see her reaction, to his immense relief she wasn't angry with him.

She closed her eyes for a moment to help cool her anger. "That really me pisses me off, now because of someone's irresponsible actions your hurt and by the looks of it we won't be able to leave until tomorrow. Now let me see how bad it is." He put his hand down so she could see it. Temari inspected the wound. "Well I am clearly going to have to remove the kunai fist. Hopefully then you will be able to move your arm, at least a little. Now brace yourself because this is going to hurt."

Once he had braced himself, she placed her left hand on his shoulder so that the hilt of the kunai was between her thumb and pointer finger. Then she gripped the kunai with her right hand. She watched his breathing and she waited for him to inhale. Then with one swift movement she pulled out the kunai and immediately applied pressure to the newly open wound.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and sucked in a shocked breath as the pain in his shoulder intensified tenfold. It took a couple minutes, but finally he began to relax a little as the pain started to recede to a dull throbbing ache.

Temari continued when she saw him relax. "Now I need to bandage you up. So let's get these cloths off." Her inner self grinned delightedly. _"Oh yes, let__'__s get __tho__s__e cloths off and see just ho__w __accurate__ my imagination can be!"_

Eventually she managed to help him get his vest, shirt, and chainmail off. She beamed with pleasure once she had swept her gaze over his perfectly sculptured torso. Oh how she longed to run her hands up his chest and look up into those gorgeous dark eyes. Oh and those abs! And those lovely muscles that lead down into a v at his waist… and…and.

And she was brought back to her senses by Shikamaru's puzzled voice. Temari? Temari, are you all right? What are you starring at? Why do you have your hands on my chest?" _"Not that I don't mind." _He thought to himself.

"Hu…what? Oh!" She ripped her hands away from his chest as if he had burned her. "I…I was just thinking of the best way to bandage you up. Then she remember his wound. She wasn't holding pressure to it anymore! She had totally forgotten about it. When she glanced at it, Shikamaru's hand had replaced where her's had been. _"Temari stop daydreaming a__nd get him bandaged up. I am su__r__e__ he__ i__s tired and he needs to eat."_

Hastily she set her backpack on her right next to Shikamaru's wounded arm and took out the necessary rolls of bandages and other anti-bacterial ointments. Setting them next to her on the ground, she took her canteen and dampened a piece of cloth. Once Shikamaru had removed his hand, she then preceded to wipe off the dried blood from around the wound. Next, she applied the ointment and began wrapping the bandages around his shoulder, the upper part of his arm, and his chest.

Shikamaru watched her carefully as she had bandaged him up. _"She had a dreamy look on her face when she had placed her hands on my chest. Then when I asked her what she was doing__she had blushe__d and took her hands way like it hurt to touch __me. I wo__nder what she was thinking…__" _Then it hit him. _"__Sh__… She must think…"_ Just as Temari had finished with the bandagesShickamaru reached over and cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look up at him.

Shocked by the unexpected contact. Temari couldn't help but comply. Their eyes met. A cocky boyish grin had spread across his face. Then, to her utter amazement he said. "You think I am handsome don't you?"

Her eyes grew wide and she stuttered. "Wh… what are you talking about I..I." She had given herself away and now she had no idea how to react. _"__Oh__ he__ ca__n__ read me l__ike an open book! What do I __do!__"_

Stroking her cheek gently with his thumb and looking deep into her eyes, Shikamaru said. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you're the most beautiful woman I have ever met."

She could see the look of sincerity on his face. She jumped and screamed with joy inside herself. _"He likes me! He thinks I am b__ea__utiful! Oh but this is all happening so fast, I haven't even seen him in five years, but __it__ seems as though I saw him just yesterday__" _She struggled with what to say next.

Shikamaru's hand had moved to cup her check. His thumbed lightly tracing the line of her bottom lip. He loved her lips, they were just as sinfully lush in person as they had be in his dream, and her eyes, he could stare into their blue green depths forever. "Temari, do you think that you could ever like me?"

Temari brought her hand up to her face and rested it on top of Shikamaru's. Then without another moment's hesitation she said in a soft voice, "I already do."

Shikamaru's heart overflowed with joy and relief. The emotions were so overwhelming he could barely think. Finally he was able to clear his mind enough to form coherent thoughts again, but before he could say anything they were enveloped in a thick green fog.

Temari had already breathed in some of the gas. Her throat was beginning to constrict and she couldn't breathe. Shikamaru had moved his hand to grip her arm as soon as the fog had appeared but her body was growing numb and she could no longer feel him. For that matter she couldn't even see him. The fog was so thick she could only see two inches in front of her nose. She didn't even feel her body hit the ground as she blacked out.

* * *

Sometime later Temari woke up with a pounding headache. She barely had the strength to move. She was so disoriented that she couldn't tell where she was. Once she managed to prop herself up and get a look around, she remembered what had happened.

Suddenly she was hit by a wave of fear. She looked around again this time more frantically. _"Oh no, where is Shikamaru! Did they take him! I never even saw who attacked us! We were so engrossed in each other__ that I let my__ guard down. It's no wo__nder they were about to take him so easily! But why didn't they take__ me, or kill me? _She just couldn't figure it out. _"They must be taking him to Orochimaru. That's the only reasonable explanation. I need to send__ for help._

_"W__h__ere__'__s that darn bird I__ complete__ly forgot about it until now."_ She spotted it on top of the boulder, staring at her. She gave a little whistle and it flew over to her and landed by her side. Removing the blank scroll and a marking tool from the little case on the hawks back, she wrote down a short message and put the scroll and pin back it the pouch. She told it fly "home". It took off quickly and was soon out of sight.

Now exhausted again Temari laid her head on the ground. "Shikamaru please be all right. Help will come soon and then we will find you." She whispered as her mind slipped back into the darkness.

* * *

The sound of voices pierced the darkness in Shikamaru's mind and brought him out of his chemical induced sleep. He was sitting on the ground propped up against a wall. He looked up in the direction of the voices. There were two men staring down at him.

"Oh would you look at that he's finally awake. Long time no see Shikamaru." The man who addressed him had gray hair pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck, he also wore glasses.

It took him a minute to recognize who it was. "Kabuto" Shikamaru said weakly.

Kabuto smiled "You remember me but I know you don't know who this is." He gestured to the cloaked man standing next to him. Shikamaru couldn't see his face because he was wearing a hood. "This is Semteru, he's the one who brought you here."

With a burst of energy fueled by his anger Shikamaru got to his feet and took a few steps toward them "So you're the one who ambushed us! What have you done with Temari!" The sudden movement caused pain to shoot through his wounded shoulder. He hunched forward a little and his hand came up to grip his shoulder. The pain sapped his energy and he fell to his knees.

A deep, menacing voice rose for the shadows. "Aw, even in his weakened state he's fierce."

Shikamaru looked up over in the direction of the sound just as Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows.


	5. Obsession

Chapter 5

Obsession

Gaara sat at his desk reviewing mission reports. He thumbed through the pile until he found the file that contained reports on the border patrols. He extracted the most recent report from the folder. He sighed as he read it. _"So __there has__ been another attempt to __ambush__ the __ninja__ I __assigned__ on border __patrol and of course the bandits were overpowered and driven off. This is the fourth time this month that this has happened.__"_He grabbed a blank piece of paper and began writing up new orders regarding the attacks on the border patrol. His orders were to bring in the bandits the next time they attacked. He would deal with them then.

He stamped the page with his official seal and placed it in the finished pile. Just as he began to reach for a new file, someone knocked impatiently at the door. _"Now who could that be, and just when I __wa__s about to look at the last report__ for today__."_He spared a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall, it was six o'clock and almost time for him to meet Kankuro for dinner. They were to discuss the most recent advances on the diplomacy agreement between the Sand and the Village Hidden Among the Stones. Clearing his thought, he beckoned the visitors into the room with a rather reluctant "Enter."

The door crashed against the wall as the kunoichi ran into the room. She stood in formation in front of Gaara's desk; her breathing came in raged gasps. She presented Gaara with a paper, folded and sealed with wax that had the village's symbol embed in it. While handing him the letter she explained its origin. "The message hawk you assigned to Temari just arrived with this letter. I got here as soon as I could."

He nearly ripped it in half as he hastened to open it. As he read it his face grew grim. He read it over several times then finally, he tore his eyes away from the letter and looked up at the ninja. His eye burned fiercely as he addressed her. "Find Kankuro and tell him to come here immediately!" She gave him a brief nod and shot out the door.

He looked down at the message again. _"They __captured the Leaf's __ninja__ who was __carrying__ the information__. Shikamaru, that's who Temari said was taken. I have to send word to__ Ho__kage Tasudas." _ He wrote a note describing the current situation, stamped it, sealed it and, called for one of the jonin standing guard outside the door. The man came and left for the hawk building with the letter.

Moments later Kankuro had arrived with a concerned look on his face. "What is it Gaara, what has happened? Is it Orochimaru?"

"I have just received a message from Temari saying that the ninja she was escorting has been captured. It is safe to assume that Orochimaru is the one responsible." He paused for a moment then almost as an afterthought he added. "I have sent word to the Leaf Village."

Conflicting thoughts began to enter Gaara's mind. He stood and walked around the side of his desk to stand in front of the large window that over looked most of the village. He looked down on the streets below; they were filled with people going to and fro. He watched as two children ran down the street with a little dog in tow. Before he had taken over the position of Kazekage the village had lived in fear under his father's reign. But now the village people were happy and content and due to that the village prospered. He allowed a blank look to cover his face as he attempted to mask his emotions. It nearly wounded him inside to know that soon he would have to announce to the village that they were going to war. Lives would be lost, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. Families would be broken.

Gaara was pulled away from his thoughts as Kankuro began to speak. "What do you plan to do Gaara? Are we going to go find Temari and go after Orochimaru?"

Without turning to look at his brother Gaara responded, his voice monotone. "I will send all ninja, besides the number necessary to guard the village, to the border were Temari is supposed to be. From there we will infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout, hopefully by then we will have met up with the force sent by the Leaf."

A shocked expression spread over Kankuro's face. "Gaara, is that such a wise decision? Shouldn't we just send a couple squads and try to retrieve the Leaf ninja unnoticed?"

This time Gaara turned to face his brother, his arms crossed over his chest. With determination and an almost murderous intent in his eyes he replied with all the authority due to his rank as Kazekage. "Now is the time to strike down that snake Orochimaru and make him pay his debt to all of the men, women and families who suffered because of his sickeningly insane dreams and desires. With the help of Lady Tasudas and the Leaf's ninja we will soon destroy the cause of such suffering and liberate Orochimaru's captives. Now go and inform everyone and have them meet me at the top of this building."

Without another word, Kankuro disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Gaara walked over to his desk, taking off his hat and robe that represent his status as Kazekage, he folded the robe and placed it in the chair with the hat on top of it. Now that he was only wearing his traditional clothes he opened the door and walked out into the hall. The two ninja posted at the door immediately followed after him as he made his way down the hall and eventually to the roof of the building. There waiting at the top were a massive number of shinobi. They were positioned in lines of three, all facing one direction.

Gaara walked over to stand in front of them, his hands behind his back. His cool gaze swept over there faces. Not one of them showed any signs of fear or uncertainty. He took one last calming breath before he addressed them. With absolute confidence in his shinobi and a fire burning bright in his soul he launched into the details of the invasion plan. This was going to be a war that would go down in history, not a single ninja in any of the hidden villages would not go unaware of the great war fought between the two most powerful ninja villages and the allusive, murderess sannin, Orochimaru, regardless of the victor.

* * *

Orochimaru stood before Shikamaru looking down at him with a wicked grin on his face., his hands were crossed over his chest in a cool almost mocking manner. Shikamaru was kneeling on the ground, his right hand griping his wounded shoulder.

He glared at the sannin as he looked up at him. He would be dammed if he showed any signs of weakness besides that of his obvious injury. As Orochimaru had walked up to him, Kabuto had moved to his left and the hooded ninja, Semteru had gone to stand at his right. With the wall at his back he was surrounded. There was no way he could escape. The best thing he could do for himself right now was to keep his cool and cooperate with his captors. Unless of course they just planed on killing him right away, then at that point it would matter any more.

Orochimaru watched the young man intently. _"This __man's__ an analyzer he must be well __aware__ of his poor situation, I don't think he__ i__s going to try anything stupid__."_Without taking his eyes away from his captive Orochimaru began to speak. "Kabuto, who did you say this ninja was?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses to rest more comfortably on his nose and then he replied with an unmistakable air confidence. "He is Shikamaru Nara of the Nara Clan. He's from the Leaf Village."

The expression on Orochimaru's face grew curious. "Nara? Aw yes that is the Clan with the ability to control shadows." An idea began to form in his mind. One that would surly kill this young man, but would greatly benefit his research and sate his unrelenting desire to express his sexual ambitions. "Take him to my secret cambers, oh, and Kabuto treat his wound, I like to start with an unmarred toy." With that Orochimaru turned on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.

Kabuto clenched his fists as an anger fueled by jealousy boiled up inside of him. _"__He wants me to take him__ to his "special" cambers! How could Oroch__i__maru want that after only __just meeting this ba__stard__today?__ What is he planning? He knows how I fe__el when he do__es__these things__ It should be me he wants in his chambers not Shikamaru!" _Kabuto reached his hand down and stopped just above Shikamaru's. When Shikamaru didn't remove his hand from his shoulder, Kabuto raised his foot and kicked him viscously in the side. Kabuto watched with sick satisfaction as Shikamaru doubled over in pain.

"Aug, you bastard." Shikamaru stuttered as he fell to his side gasping for breath. _"Scratch__ what I __thought__ before __about not showing weakness. T__here's__ no way in hell I am going to these "special" chambers. I will die here fighting before__I will let that happen__."_

Semteru watched on in irritation. "Kabuto, if you continue beating Lord Orochimaru's new toy I don't think he will be very happy with you, you might get yourself killed. And besides jealousy doesn't become you and not only that we are here to help fulfill all of Orochimaru's desires no matter what the cost."

Kabuto snapped his head up to look at Semteru; a wicked sneer contorted his face. "Shut the hell up, I will don't what I like. I could kill you in a heartbeat, so I would watch what you say to me."

Suddenly Shikamaru's fist smashed into Kabuto's face. The Medical ninja was sent flying backward. He landed on his back with an undignified grunt. Shikamaru, now standing, turned to face the hooded ninja. "I am not going without a fight." Shikamaru reached around to remove a kunai from the pouch at his lower back. With what little energy he could muster he lunged toward the ninja. He had only moved about a foot before two bunshin appeared at either side of him. They both made a quick series of hand signs and then using two fingers they jabbed him on both sides of his neck. He instantly lost consciousness and hit the ground. He skidded several feet before rolling to a stop at Semteru's feet.

Semteru released the jutsu; both bunshin disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Now Kabuto, why don't you get up and come heal this man before Orochimaru discovers that he has not yet arrived in his chambers."

Kabuto rolled over onto his side. He brought his hand up to his face to catch a drop of blood as it slid down his chin. He held his hand out to examine the crimson red drop on his index finger. _"The basta__rd__ split __my __lip.__He__ will pay for this! Don't you __worry__ Shikamaru, one way or another you'll get __what's__ yours." _Gritting his teeth he got to his feet and walked to kneel beside Shikamaru's motionless body. Kabuto reached out and pulled him over to lay on his back. Without bothering to remove the bandages Kabuto hovered his hand over the Leaf ninjas shoulder and began to heal it. _"It's not __necessary__ to remove the bandages when I can clearly see the blood __stain were the wound ble__d thought. This wound is __fairly__fresh;__ it's __maybe__ only one or two days old. I __wonder__ what happened…"_

"Kabuto what is taking you so long?" Semteru looked down distastefully at the medical ninjas slow progress.

Kabuto looked up at the man with a piercing gaze. "Shut the hell up I am almost done. Now summon a shadow clone to carry this guy."

Just as Kabuto finished and stood Semteru's shadow clone appeared and bent down to pick up Shikamaru's limp body. Silently they filed out of room and head down the dark candle lit corridor.

One and half days later the hawk arrived in the leaf village with the message from Gaara. Tsunade was standing at the top of the Hokage building when a ninja presented her with the message.

She read the message with a growing feeling of horror and anticipation. "Shizune" Tsunade addressed the kunoichi standing next to her holding Ton Ton the pig. "Orochimaru has captured Shikamaru. Gaara is sending his ninja to war and he wants us to do the same."

Shizune gasped "Oh no! We have to save Shikamaru!" Ton Ton let out a little squeal in agreement.

"We don't even know if he is still alive. And if Orochimaru tried to release the seal placed on Shikamaru it would have killed him." A look of determination spread across Tsunade's face. "More importantly I need you to assemble all of the necessary ninja to this spot, were going after Gaara."

Shizune nodded her head. "Right." Taking Ton Ton with her she disappeared from the roof top.

_"__The time has finally __come;__ we will __strike__ you down Oroc__hi__maru. __There's__ to escaping__ it__ this time.__" _She looked up at the Hokage faces her eyes rested on her grandfathers. "_Third__ Hokage, it's time to pick up __where__ you left off_."

* * *

Drip…drip, the melodious sound echoed in Shikamaru's mind. Each time that he heard it again the sound sent ripples thought his subconscious. The sound grew louder and louder until finally it drew him from his dark sleep.

Shikamaru opened his eyes groggily. "Auh, were am I? Why I can't move my arms!" He looked up to see his arms suspended above him. Two chains about a foot apart dropped down from the ceiling and ended with shackles that were locked around his wrists.

The chains were long enough that he was kneeling on the floor. When he tried to get up he realized that his ankles were also in shackles. The chains that connected from the floor to his ankles were not long enough to allow him to stand.

Shikamaru was beginning to panic. _"What the__ hell is going on? What is Orochi__maru planning on doing to __me!__" _He was beginning to sweat and his breathing became frantic. _"No Shikamaru, just hold on, you need to calm down. What would Asuma__ think if he knew you were reacting__ like __this__? Come on think, you need to __analyze__ your surroundings."_

Shikamaru inhaled and exhaled slowly. Once he had his breathing under control he glanced around the room. The room was eerily light by candles that lined the walls to his left and right and behind him. There were counters with a sink and various drawers and shelves along the wall in front of him. _"I __can't__ see a door. That must mean __its__strait__ behind me __where__ I __can't__ see it.__ That sink'__s faucet__ is dripping, that must be what woke me up__" _

Shikamaru let his head hang down. His energy still had not returned and he was beginning to feel a scents of hopelessness. "_How the hell am I going to get out of here? I __can't__ even move. And not only that my chakras __been__drained__ somehow and I just don't have any energy left. If it __weren't__ for these__ shackles I am not sure I __could__nt__ even sit up on my own."_

"Well well it seems as though your finally awake." The ominous voice let out a soft chuckle.

Shikamaru's head shot up in surprise. Standing before him was Lord Orochimaru. His left hand rested on his hip and the other hung down his side. He rested most of his weight on his left leg. His head was tilted to the side a little as he looked down on Shikamaru with a deceptively friendly smile on his face.

"How are you feeling Shikamaru? I tried to make you as comfortable as possible. That's why I only chained you up high enough so you could kneel instead of stand." Orochimaru squatted in front of Shikamaru so that they were eye to eye. Reaching up Orochimaru took Shikamaru's chin in his hand then he tilted his head from side to side so he could examine his face. "My my, you do have such a nice completion." Then letting go of his chin he patted his cheek gently and stood up.

Shikamaru looked on in shock. _"Why the hell does he care about how I look? What does that have to do with anything?"_ Shikamaru watched as the sannin walked over to the counter were he pushed a button on the wall. Suddenly the shackles around his ankles unlocked and fell to the ground. Then the chains above his head began to recoil back into the ceiling. He was forced to stand as the chains got shorter. His hands were still suspended above his head. There was no slack in the chains and so he was unable to walk even an inch.

Orochimaru walked over to Shikamaru then placing his hand on his own chin, he tilted his head and looked Shikamaru up and down. The expression on Orochimaru's face turned from pleasant to irritated. "I can't get a good look at you, when you're wearing thoughts bandages. They need to come off."

Shikamaru hid his alarm. _"No__ if he takes o__f__f these bandages he will see the seal. Then he will know I am carrying a __secret__ message. But I guess I sho__uldn't worry about compromise__ing__ the __safety__ of the village. Because if he attempts to __break__ the seal I will die __before__ he can get the information." _Dismay and relief washed over him. _"Well that's not good news for me but at least I __won't__ be __responsible__ for the __destruction__ of the village, aw man this really sucks!"_

Taking a pair of medical scissors, Orochimaru cut away the bandages. He eyes widen in surprise as his eyes caught sight of the beep black seal markings. "Aw, it would seem that you have been hiding something from me Shikamaru." His venomous gaze caught hole of Shikamaru's. "There should be no secrets between us my pet. That's no way to start out a relationship." Orochimaru place cold but gentle finger tips on the seal markings above Shikamaru's heart.

Now that he felt completely vulnerable Shikamaru could no longer remain silent. "Get the hell away from me! Let me down!" He tried to kick the sannin away but he just didn't have the strength.

Orochimaru stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I see your still suffering from the effects of Semteru's gas grenades. It's a very effective chemical the saps the energy and chakra of the one who inhales it. Don't worry you will get your energy back soon enough, but as for your chakra, I honestly couldn't tell you when it will return. It could be several hours, days or even weeks. But enough talk about that." Orochimaru placed his fingers on the seal again. "What would you like to tell me about this? Remember there shall be no secrets between us."

The last word came out in a low provocative hiss. Shikamaru tried to ignore it but it was eating at him. Without commenting about the seal he went straight to asking him about his intentions. "What do you mean by, relationship? I will never befriend my greatest enemy!"

Orochimaru let out a soft chuckle as he walked to stand behind Shikamaru. He laid his right hand flat on his chest then brought his head besides Shikamaru's and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Oh, Shikamaru I intend for our relationship to be much more intense than any normal friendship would ever be. He placed his other hand on the jonin's side and allowed it to slide down his stomach and then beneath the waistline of Shikamaru's pants.

Shikamaru gasped in complete shock.

"Soon, you will learn to love me." Orochimaru's tongue snaked out and slid across Shikamaru's cheek, then he ran it over his lips before taking it back into his mouth to savoir the taste.

Orochimaru pushed his hand even farther into the jonin's pants. Shikamaru cried out, it was all he could do; he was completely at Orochimaru's mercy.


End file.
